Majestic Heat gets green light for Yellow Ribbon

ARCADIA, Calif. – The three-time champion Beholder is not the only stakes-winning female bound for Del Mar in trainer Richard Mandella’s stable.

Mandella has high hopes for Majestic Heat, who will start in next Saturday’s $200,000 Yellow Ribbon Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on turf. The promising 4-year-old Majestic Heat returned from an eight-month layoff to win an optional claimer at a mile at Santa Anita on June 17. On Friday, Majestic Heat worked five furlongs in 1:00.60 and galloped out six furlongs in 1:13.60, according to Santa Anita clockers.

The workout was sufficient to plan for a start in the Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon.

“She looks pretty good to me,” Mandella said. “Even before that last race, she was training like a monster. With that race, she’s ready for some bigger stakes.”

Owned by Madeline Auerbach and Bardy Farm, Majestic Heat has yet to win a stakes. She was fifth in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks last summer when trained by Barry Abrams. Mandella began training Majestic Heat last fall.

As for Beholder, she remains on course for the $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes for fillies and mares July 30.

The Yellow Ribbon is one of five stakes on turf on the opening weekend of the Del Mar meeting, which begins Friday. The richest race of the weekend is the $250,000 Eddie Read Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf next Sunday. The race was a Grade 1 in 2015 and has been downgraded to a Grade 2 this year.

Ashleyluvssugar, a winner of two Grade 2 stakes on turf in 2015, will make his first start in a graded stakes this season in the Eddie Read. Trained by Peter Eurton, Ashleyluvssugar was third in the Crystal Water Stakes for California-breds at a mile on turf June 11 in his first start of 2016.

Ashleyluvssugar was second in the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap at 1 3/8 miles on turf last August, and the same race Aug. 20 is a goal this summer.

“The mile and an eighth is a good prep for the Del Mar Handicap,” Eurton said. “The way he ran a mile, you’ve got to think the mile and an eighth will be good because of how fresh he was.”